“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t,” says a senior Trump administration official

My 2 cents: If a senior administration official truly believes the president is a threat and is behaving erratically, he/she should tell the public -- on the record. nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opi…
Voters elected Trump -- not a staff trying to save the republic.

Team Trump was so concerned abt Trump’s fitness that they pondered the 25th Amendment, but opted to avoid a “constitutional crisis.” Now these same unknowns and unelecteds run the country sans oversight. Isn’t that, by definition, a constitutional crisis?

Another "profile in courage" published anonymously in the failing @nytimes by a spineless establishment hack who lacks the courage of their convictions. I can guess who it is...maybe I should share my suspicions? Time to clean up the administration #MAGA

Well, that is unusual: NYT publishes a piece by an anonymous "senior official in the Trump administration," identity known to the NYT, who argues that multiple members of the administration are working to prevent a bad president from doing bad things.

"Anti-trade" sticks out here in a sentence where it doesn't really belong and makes me wonder if it's someone in Treasury or at least highly concerned with economic policy. nyti.ms/2PCZCWvpic.twitter.com/1iWZhmFse0

There were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over.

Whoa...the NYT just posted an Op-Ed from an anonymous senior White House official: "The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making."

Anonymous NYT oped: “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration; I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

The biggest news out of this is that at least some members of Trump’s own cabinet reportedly considered invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office because he was so dangerously unfit for the job.

1/ A senior Trump Administration official wrote an op-ed for the @nytimes describing how the author and "many" others within the Trump Administration "frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations" until it ends "one way or another."

As you read this @nytimes op-ed from an anonymous senior administration official stressing that "Americans should know that there are adults in the room," note the institution that isn't mentioned even once:
Congress.
nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opi…
That's a stunning indictment, IMHO.

This is pretty extraordinary.
All I'm going to say is those of us like minded #NeverTrump Republicans KNEW Trump was dangerously unfit & we tried to warn voters. Between #BobWoodward and this @nytimes op/ed my worst fears are proving correct. 🤦‍♀️

Whoa
The NYT "is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure."

President Trump's erratic behavior would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the White House who thwart his worst inclinations, writes an anonymous senior administration official.

1. This is mind blowing. 2. Author sez cabinet didn’t try too go 25th amendment route bc it would be a constitutional crisis. NO: 25th am is the constitutional ANSWER to the dilemma we’re in, not staying in while trying to subvert.

"There are bright spots...effective deregulation, historic tax reform...and more.
But these successes have come despite—not because of—the president..."
The op-ed is extraordinary proof that some want to benefit from racism without accepting its stigma.

Imo this reads like a plea to conservatives: "We know it's bad, we know we are losing some of you, but we promise we won't let it go completely sideways. Just put up with the corruption a little longer until we get all the things we want."

"The Times today is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed... We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure."

It's remarkable that there are institutions of the kind that can vouch that this is indeed a senior Trump official, yet keep him or her anonymous. We could be in a world where such a message wouldn't be possible. (The message itself is pretty wild.)

We're fortunate when civil servants refuse to act illegally, immorally or unethically even if so ordered, but checking the commander-in-chief should not fall to unelected officials. That is expressly the role of Congress and it should do its job.

This is the beginning of the end as it clearly reflects the voice of multiple senior officials. Those who remain silent are now accessories to the demise of our nation’s security. @NicolleDWallace@DeadlineWH@MSNBC

I have many problems with this piece, but a Senior Trump official says that Donald Trump is so disturbing and unhinged that many members of the cabinet have openly considered having him removed from the office via the 25th Amendment.
THIS IS A CRISIS.

The NYT has published an op-ed by a senior Trump administration official. They know who the official is but the officials name has not been revealed. Among other things, the official says there were early rumblings about invoking the 25th amendment
nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opi…pic.twitter.com/0TbcfriS2X

Sorry but...what kind of #$&! is this, @nytimes? I'm no fan of the President, but how do you publish an anonymous op-ed that furthers the "fake news" narrative and is lame, trite, and literally adds nothing, substantively, to the conversation?? #FAIL

Well, this anonymous op-ed in the New York Times is worth a read, and then it's worth talking about. It's from a top official in the Trump regime, admitting what we all know and what Bob Woodward's book confirmed: he's unfit for office.

lots of ways to read this incredible document but my personal favorite is as a straightforward admission, in the elite mouthpiece of choice, of a coup d'etat by the business wing of the republican party

This is cowardly and there is no good reason to publish it. It tells us nothing we didn’t already know from reporting, but it sets whoever this is up for their inevitable Resistance hero golden parachute book contract.

Fascinating op-ed by a senior US official, staying anonymous: "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" nyti.ms/2CyF3Jh It's particularly intriguing that he says that there have been whispers within the Cabinet about invoking the 25th Amendment.

I'll believe that Trump is growing into the presidency when his staff stops writing anonymous NYT opeds telling America that he is an authoritarian baby but don't worry the day care center is fully staffed

Wow. Not one mention of the word racism or immigration. Which makes me think, this official might have problems with Trump but he doesn’t have problems with those issues? Aren’t they essential?Charlottesville? Families ripped apart? And NOT mentioned here?

"Moored to first principles" is a phrase someone from the Federalist Society would say.
Language patterns mirror a McMaster column recently posted.
This is McMaster ally with Fed Soc connections. Likely also a lawyer.

This is a totally normal article about a totally normal state of affairs involving a totally normal president and there is nothing to see here, so please move on thank you.
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration

Clearly someone moved to do this after the death of @SenJohnMcCain, but in that spirit they should show the courage of their convictions: put your name to it and quit! I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the @POTUS Trump Administration

An underemphasized point about the self-serving op ed is how wrong it is in the claim that Trump "shows little affinity for ideals espoused by conservatives." On by far their biggest issue, tax cuts for the rich, the president has been their dream. 1/

Always newspaper of power, @nytimes publishes anonymous op-ed making unsubstantiated claims of resistance while championing classic right-wing agenda. This should not have been anonymous op-ed but start of investigative report on dubious claims.

The anonymous Op-Ed writer can't have it both ways. The senior official can't both "want the administration to succeed" and view the president as "detrimental to the health of the republic." Resign now and go public. It's your last chance

In extraordinary anonymous op-ed, sr admin official calls Trump amoral, misguided, erratic. Says many sr officials are "working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda & his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them"

The more I read this the more angry I am. At Russia. At anyone who is responsible for this ghastly mess. And now, most of all, whoever wrote this goddamn thing. It doesn't make sense. It's not smart. It's cowardly. It's risky. It's stupid.

Holding up my jaw.
An anonymous insider at the White House spills the beans to ⁦@nytimes⁩ on how the administration are trying to stop a “half-baked, ill-informed..reckless” Trump tearing up America’s democracy.

Not super impressed by anonymous' piece in @nytopinion. Felt self-serving and self-justifying. I've heard this from lots of GOPers who won't oppose Trump. Follow the lead of @JRubinBlogger and @BillKristol who didn't sell out for the tax cuts and de-reg.

Stunning @nytimes oped by senior #Trump administration official who calls president "amoral," "reckless," w/ preference for dictators as allies. Describes "resistance" within White House to contain damage. Yowza.

In an administration where four or five top officials have already had to deny calling Trump an "idiot" or "fucking moron," the author of this op-ed has much more cover than most leakers. It really could be one of at least 20 people.

The worst bit about this op-ed is where the author clearly intimates "we're trying our best to stop the end of the world, but we stop short of actually rebelling because we still really like tax cuts and depriving poor people of healthcare."

Anonymous op-ed "I Am Part of the Resistance" nyti.ms/2CyF3Jh Trump "was reluctant to expel so many of Mr Putin’s spies...But his national security team knew better...This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state. It’s the work of the steady state"

It's bizarre that senior GOP people around Trump know he's dangerously unstable but don't take steps to get rid of him. It's like Brexit - everyone seems to know it's a terrible idea but the political will isn't there to do something about it

Been busy, so just getting to the NYT anonymous op-ed. So it's sort of a distillation of the Woodward book, yes? Tough call for an editor to publish an anonymous op-ed, but we have to assume the NYT wouldn't do it unless person is really "senior." I hope.

Extraordinary. @nytimes publishes anonymous op-ed by "a senior official in the Trump administration" trying to "preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

"The Times today is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure"

OK buddy you lost me at "We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous" you're literally deregulating important federal safety regulations

And here we are: "Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis."

Assuming the author really is who he/she claims to be, I am grateful to her/him for the quiet patriotism and "steady state" effort to manage the menace I believe President Trump poses to the U.S. and the world.

Hot take on this is that the person thinks s/he is a hero but actually is a coward. Step up, testify before congress, and get this lunatic out of the oval office. It's worth giving up your White House parking pass.

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration nyti.ms/2CyF3Jh I had hoped this was the case, that there were adults in the room; so on the one hand I’m relieved, but on the other hand, I feel sick.

‘I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations’—anonymous senior official in Trump’s administration writes a fascinating op-ed in ⁦@nytimes⁩

The amazing part of the anonymous White House staffer op-ed: this person almost certainly thinks he will be applauded for doing a good thing. Wrong! The Trump true believers will think him a Judas, and the Resistance will call him a collaborator.

“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t”. Wow. Who needs the movies?
nyti.ms/2CyF3Jh #whitehouse #trump

"We want the admin to succeed & think many of its policies have already made America safer & more prosperous. But we believe our first duty is to this country, & the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic."

No pat on the back to the author because:
1. You are enabling a mentally ill President to advance your own agenda;
2. You were not elected, so your taking over is a coup; and
3. You are a coward for not going on record and asking that Trump be removed.

This is unusual. A 'senior official' in the Trump administration writes an anonymous NYT op-ed about his efforts to resist and thwart the president: 'I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.'

The anonymous op-ed coming on the heels of the Woodward book and all the tweets will reinforce questions around the world as to what is going on in the US and whether it can be relied on for the foreseeable future to act in a recognizable dependable manner

You’re enablers, like the enablers who think they’re helping an alcoholic by hiding the car keys. You’re spending our tax dollars NOT doing your actual job, but instead, marginally cleaning up his messes. OH AND BTW, he found the keys, they always do.

“Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president.” I argue that it’s time to invoke 25th Amend: wapo.st/2NNssmynytimes.com/2018/09/05/opi…

What anonymous "senior official" would quote an anonymous "a top official" in their own oped? Put me in the "not impressed" column for now. Would have been way more powerful with a byline: "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration"

🇺🇸
NYT Opinion:
‘I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration’
The New York Times took the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay from a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to the Times.
ow.ly/Kw2k30lHKkjpic.twitter.com/qivZCNVibj

Wow. But the only alternative is not to serve and limit the damage. Senior officials can also resign, reveal their first-hand knowledge of Trump's lack of fitness for office, and leave his Congressional GOP supporters fewer excuses. +

Weird that people whose whole theory of politics depends on tribalism-the Coalition of the Ascendant, 'Republicans Gotta-Win-Over-Latinos,' the Next America, etc--now pose themselves as against "tribalism."

Senior Trump WH official writes letter to the @nytimes describing the work that he & others in the administration are doing to keep Trump from wrecking this country.
Even House of Cards couldn’t come up with a story line as crazy as the one we’re living

All of this rings true, but the author does not advance the cause of the “resistance inside” by writing about it publicly. It reads more like an attempt to salvage his or her personal reputation at some future moment, or to salve a guilty mind.

On the one hand, wow
On the other hand, nothing we haven't heard before
On the other hand, it's confirmation that 25th amendment came up
On the other hand, real bravery would be saying this publicly -- or resigning
On the other hand, wow

"Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis."

Just think about this sentence from a senior Trump administration official: "Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president."

The Resistance inside Trump’s WH:
“I have vowed to thwart parts of Trump’s agenda & his worst inclinations.”
Cabinet members whispered about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove POTUS, but key aides felt it better to let him think he is president.

This mofo actively collaborates with a White House that puts migrant toddlers in concentration camps in order give corporations tax breaks and further enrich defense contractors but has the gall to call Trump "amoral"

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration nyti.ms/2CyF3Jh // is this supposed to be comforting? Anonymous people choosing to do what they feel is right lacks a certain accountability and transparency.

There are likely many things that this individual & I might disagree upon. Putting our country first is not one of them. I’m grateful there are lucid, stable people in the inner circle of this administration and that they’re willing to temper bad impulses.

Anonymous @WhiteHouse official in @nytimes :
"We believe our 1st duty is to this country & the president [acts] in a manner detrimental 2 the health of our republic...many #Trump appointees vow 2 do what we can 2 thwart #Trump’s more misguided impulses."

There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle & shedding labels in favor of a single one: Americans.

The only plausible explanation is that the author is trying to precipitate a crisis. This is fighting the unconstitutional with the unconstitutional. The Constitution has in it the mechanism for dealing with Mr. Trump. What's in this oped is not it.

“The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making.” If problem (indeed crisis) is @realDonaldTrump personality, how does this help?

"Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won't. The result is a two-track presidency."

"We know our boss is unfit for duty, and we know there's a Constitutional process for correcting it. But we think following the Constitution will create a Constitutional crisis, so instead we're undermining our government from within. You're welcome!"

Intriguing line about 'effective deregulation'. Basically says 'we think Trump is mad and dangerous and have launched a soft coup against him, but we can't rock the boat too much cos we don't want to risk losing the new found freedom to pollute rivers'

“Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.”
The 25 Amend was designed to deal with this.

The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility.

Wow! This suggests an administration that is coming apart at the seams, in which officials are no longer afraid of Trump - not to mention a tacit endorsement of Woodward's accuracy.
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration

Damn straight.
A senior Trump official pens a rare anonymous op-ed. God bless the insiders who venture to tell the truth.
"Truth will come to light;
murder cannot be hid long;
a man's son may,
but at the length truth will out."
nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opi…pic.twitter.com/O9LlZBt48j

Stigmergy for #nevertrump
#nevertrump is surging as a weaponized network (apart from the #resistance -- see last month GG Briefs).
We may see a counter-attack using clearances, to dive deep into the nat-sec bureaucracy to root out #nevertrump, next.

‘The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility...’

I'm torn between admiration for the anonymous author, and niggling doubts about the anti-democratic nature of what he (or she!) is doing.
America elected Trump. Do we deserve to be protected from his worst impulses?

The author of this op-ed (if real) should be immediately and permanently imprisoned for treason. And the Times should absolutely not be permitted to hide behind the first amendment when a staffer is undermining national security like this!

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration nyti.ms/2CyF3Jh
‘The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making.’

Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.

Following on the Woodward book preview, this is even more remarkable: has anything like this ever been published in the NY Times--or any media outlet?
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration via @NYTimes

👀
"But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic. That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to... [thwart] Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses..."

Ha, the author who thinks s/he is so brave. Yet s/he has sold out democracy for a tax cut. Call me crazy but I am not especially comforted by the real politik of a staff that now must unconstitutionally steal power from a deranged, unfit president.

Normally I'd tweet how this isn't a good use-case for @opentimestamps, because you could timestamp multiple articles.
But because Trump insiders aren't in the habit of tweeting 256 bit hex digests your k-anonymity set will be too small for a commitment.

Well isn’t this just a dandy. It appears that the loons spouting a conspiracy theory of a shadow state were right. Except for one small thing. It isn’t the left running a shadow government, it’s the President’s very own cabinet and party.

In any other functioning democracy, the idea that an unelected cadre is running a shadow government and subverting the will of the elected executive to pursue their idea of the nation's agenda would be considered treasonous or a coup.

“There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor .....”

#NovemberIsComing
“The bigger concern is not what @realDonaldTrump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility.”
Elections end this

If you’re an ally of the United States, how do you deal with this when it comes to negotiations, alliances, messaging, or, to start with, just routine conversations with the White House?
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration nyti.ms/2CyF3Jhpic.twitter.com/bG8VsuHVmx

“The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility.”

When“anonymous”says many of Trump’s “policies have already made America safer & more prosperous,”such as“effective deregulation,historic tax reform,a more robust military,”he sounds like those who abhor Trump’s immorality & corruption but love his policies.

Not everyone has access to the @nytimes, so I'm going to retweet the most important thing published there in recent memory: Today's op-ed from an anonymous senior White House official telling the full truth about what's going inside the administration.

“To be clear, ours is not the popular ‘resistance’ of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration

A White House staffer writes: "It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t."

I don't know if anonymous thought this would be comforting - or he/she is just doing a rationalization dance to justify their terrible life choices. Either way, it ain't working:
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Admin

"Some of his aides have been cast as villains by the media. But in private, they have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained...It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room."

Yeah, I except you’re not. It’s good you’re buffering the president’s worst impulses, but if you don’t see how he’s a product of the conservative agenda that you support, then you’re still part of the problem.

"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t."

Opinion | I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration buff.ly/2MOt6DG Wow - "This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state. It’s the work of the steady state.Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers of invoking the 25th Amendment." pic.twitter.com/4Em6nCzU8v

We considered opening the door to escape the raging fire. But no one wanted to let any flies into the house
"...there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment... But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis."

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the #Trump Administration [Many will welcome this, but really a self-serving rationale for continuing to enable Trump who poisons our politics. Many sources for #Woodward book have same motives]

Wow...”It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”